Medical emergencies with no land line

Published

Specializes in Public Health, DEI.

This story was sent out over one of my work listservs today to highlight the quick thinking of this 7 year old boy. Hooray for him, but the adults in his life had better start using some common sense themselves.

I'm glad that this grandfather survived and that his grandsons had the presence of mind to help him. Still, I find it difficult to fathom that a man with a condition that could turn life threatening at any moment would go anywhere without his cell phone and even more so that a mother would leave her children at home with no access to a telephone that could dial for emergency assistance. I'm sorry, but that strikes me as incredibly irresponsible. And what kind of "babysitter" leaves a 7 year old and a 4 year old alone in the living room for a few hours?

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/NEWS/704240383/1006

Up Vote Up Vote ×

wow thats great that the kids knew what to do. it sounds like it might be a good idea to get the grandfather a cell phone or a land line phone. you made some great points in your post.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i am so glad those two boys knew what to do. and i agree why in the world was there no phone????

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i am so glad those two boys knew what to do. and i agree why in the world was there no phone????

i haven't had a land line in my house in several years--i got sick of the extra expense for a phone that was only used by people calling to sell me something. my husband, i, and three of my kids have cell phones. of the two that don't, one is 3 years old and the other is special needs and i really don't trust him not to lose one, he tends to lose things a lot. that child, fortunately, though, seems to have more sense than his "average" brothers, and has been instructed to immediately go to the neighbor's (any neighbor) in the event of an emergency.

in the years since we d/c'd the land line i've only wished for one a couple times when i wanted to send or receive a fax without going out. and my husband and i can turn off our phones and sleep in undisturbed any time without the kids missing any calls from friends.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
I haven't had a land line in my house in several years--I got sick of the extra expense for a phone that was only used by people calling to sell me something. My husband, I, and three of my kids have cell phones. Of the two that don't, one is 3 years old and the other is special needs and I really don't trust him not to lose one, he tends to lose things a lot. That child, fortunately, though, seems to have more sense than his "average" brothers, and has been instructed to immediately go to the neighbor's (any neighbor) in the event of an emergency.

In the years since we d/c'd the land line I've only wished for one a couple times when I wanted to send or receive a fax without going out. And my husband and I can turn off our phones and sleep in undisturbed any time without the kids missing any calls from friends.

But in this situation, there was NO phone, cell or land line, that was available to call 911. Luckily there was the old cell phone programmed to dial Mom's number, but even that wasn't all that reliable. I just don't get the wisdom of that, especially in the case of known medical conditions.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
But in this situation, there was NO phone, cell or land line, that was available to call 911. Luckily there was the old cell phone programmed to dial Mom's number, but even that wasn't all that reliable. I just don't get the wisdom of that, especially in the case of known medical conditions.

Maybe Mom didn't realize Grandpa didn't have his phone with him? I do agree that it was a real problem in this case and they are all lucky that a tragedy was narrowly averted.

It really bothers me that my mother and aunt don't have cell phones--my mom lives alone--she has a land line in her apartment but travels all over New England by herself and never tells anyone where she is going. My aunt also has a land line and lives by herself, but she has a hereditary heart condition and her brother died under mysterious circumstances all alone and no one found him for days. :( The city "forgot" to do an autopsy on him even though one should have been required due to the circumstances (and was requested) and no one found out until AFTER he was cremated!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
Maybe Mom didn't realize Grandpa didn't have his phone with him? I do agree that it was a real problem in this case and they are all lucky that a tragedy was narrowly averted.

It really bothers me that my mother and aunt don't have cell phones--my mom lives alone--she has a land line in her apartment but travels all over New England by herself and never tells anyone where she is going. My aunt also has a land line and lives by herself, but she has a hereditary heart condition and her brother died under mysterious circumstances all alone and no one found him for days. :( The city "forgot" to do an autopsy on him even though one should have been required due to the circumstances (and was requested) and no one found out until AFTER he was cremated!

I don't know, I guess I just think it is the responsibility of a Mom leaving town for a weekend to ensure that whoever she is leaving the children with has ready access to reach her in case of any emergency. When my son was little, I was known as the ''overprotective'' Mom in the neighborhood, but I didn't mind the snickers. I'd rather take too many precautions than not enough.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

Well, the article said that the he forgot his cell phone at home. I'm KNOW I would have asked, "Do you have your cell phone...check it...ok...is it charged?" I'm rather neurotic about double checking this sort of thing before leaving.

I'm wondering if the pre-programmed cell phone that the mom left with the kids had 911 programmed and the kids called mom instead.

I no longer have a cell phone, and I enjoy being the lone cell phone-less freak. But I don't have children.

Not sure, Mercy. Clearly they made mistakes. But I could see how it could happen.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
Well, the article said that the he forgot his cell phone at home. I'm KNOW I would have asked, "Do you have your cell phone...check it...ok...is it charged?" I'm rather neurotic about double checking this sort of thing before leaving.

I'm wondering if the pre-programmed cell phone that the mom left with the kids had 911 programmed and the kids called mom instead.

I no longer have a cell phone, and I enjoy being the lone cell phone-less freak. But I don't have children.

Not sure, Mercy. Clearly they made mistakes. But I could see how it could happen.

It didn't sound like it from the article, but maybe so. What point is a pre-programmed cell phone if that isn't one of the numbers it is programmed to call? Even if I could understand how Mom could take off without making sure the sitter- any sitter, not just her Dad who she knows is diabetic- had access to her, I couldn't get over Grandpa leaving those little kids to their own devices while he went in to watch TV. I think the line about the 7 year old coming in to check on Grandpa at midnight said it all.... isn't it supposed to work the other way around? I mean, I understand by that time Grandpa was in crisis, but I just can't get past a 7 year old being up at that hour.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CMSRN.

I am happy that the seven year old was up at midnight. Grandpa may not be alive otherwise. Not all situations in life will be ideal.

I hope I am able to teach my kids what to do in a crisis. And pray that they can figure out what to do next if the standard interventions do not work.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
This story was sent out over one of my work listservs today to highlight the quick thinking of this 7 year old boy. Hooray for him, but the adults in his life had better start using some common sense themselves.

I'm glad that this grandfather survived and that his grandsons had the presence of mind to help him. Still, I find it difficult to fathom that a man with a condition that could turn life threatening at any moment would go anywhere without his cell phone and even more so that a mother would leave her children at home with no access to a telephone that could dial for emergency assistance. I'm sorry, but that strikes me as incredibly irresponsible. And what kind of "babysitter" leaves a 7 year old and a 4 year old alone in the living room for a few hours?

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070424/NEWS/704240383/1006

I agree. Just for that reason, we keep a land line in our home, and the phone in the kitchen is NOT a cordless phone.

This area also has went to promote digital phone services through their cable TV provider....the only catch is, they don't work if your electricity goes out.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Public Health, DEI.
I am happy that the seven year old was up at midnight. Grandpa may not be alive otherwise. Not all situations in life will be ideal.

I hope I am able to teach my kids what to do in a crisis. And pray that they can figure out what to do next if the standard interventions do not work.

No, not all situations will be ideal. This family got lucky this time. That shouldn't stop those of us who are interested from having a discussion about the advisability of not having phones available for medical emergencies, should it?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment